With the British government more or less towing the American line on Iran albeit indirectly and the American pressure on India to clear its stand on the “errant” Iranian President, it looks like from SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) it is now the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) that is going to be the Indian government’s answer with regard to its own engagements in the region.

And even as the External Affairs Minister, Pranab Mukherjee, reaffirmed India’s strong commitment to the NAM and its enduring relevance in the current international situation at the annual session of the UN General Assembly, India’s National Security Advisor M K Narayanan paid a secret visit to Afghanistan in early October for a first hand assessment of the security situation there.

Insurgency
With already 5000 insurgency-related deaths as opposed to 4000 last year, the Taliban continues to be seen as the real threat to the stability in the region. The asylum they once enjoyed on the Pakistani side of the border region seems to be dwindling as pressure on President Musharraf from his first world friends is on the rise.
Washington claimed success with its initial rout of the Taliban in 2001. But in the absence of a more sustainable engagement not only did they fail to consolidate their own position here but also failed in the consolidation of a stable government in a secure Afghanistan.

Insurgents have already launched more than a hundred suicide attacks this year, and with about 87 US troops killed already – compared to the 90 U S service members killed last year – it is definitely an escalating pace. In attempting to avoid nation-building exercises, the troops have only seen the situation worsen.

For the American troops, this means that even six years after the first US bombs targeted the Taliban and their prized al-Qaeda guests, President George W Bush is planning a longer stay for them and the American base at Bagram is growing in size. Today the US has about 25,000 troops in the country, more than three times their number four years ago, when the Taliban appeared defeated. And as they prepare to strengthen their offensive against the Taliban, President Hamid Karzai wants the militants to join the government through peace talks.

Most militiamen have agreed to talks only following a complete troop pull-out. With the security situation in the shambles, it is a difficult condition to fulfill even for the President who relies so heavily on their presence for his own continuance.

The formation of the National Front – a political coalition of legislators and other politicians – is the first real political resistance to the current government. Considering that all the people who occupy Parliament today won as independent candidates, this appears to be an interesting democratic change in Afghan politics. Comprised mostly of former members of the largely non-Pashtun Northern Alliance that fought the Taliban, it vowed to affect a series of constitutional changes giving more influence to political parties.

The group has already voted for the recalling of Foreign Minister Spanta who alienated the warlords and former Mujahideen with his opposition to a blanket amnesty for war crimes committed during the three decades of the Afghan conflict.

NAM’s role
India on its part has shown a more proactive commitment to rebuilding in Afghanistan having committed $650 million in aid. With boosting of trade as its agenda and the escalating Taliban-related violence in the subcontinent the only obstacle, the government is also considering strengthening relations with nationalist elements amongst the Pashtuns and other dominant ethnic groups to pursue its interests there. 

And with nascent democracies like Kazakhstan offering to host the next ministerial level meeting of the NAM, the significance and relevance of the movement probably still endures.